This invention relates to an automatic ice making and dispensing service for a conventional household refrigerator.
Many household refrigerators feature automatic ice making apparatus including a collecting and storage bin or receptacle in which the ice pieces are stored at below-freezing temperatures for removal by the user. Various ice makers previously used or proposed have also included means for dispensing ice pieces individually or in batches of two or three pieces. It is desirable to have such automatic ice making and dispensing apparatus take up as little usable storage space in the refrigerator freezer compartment as possible. For this purpose, it is common to either place the ice piece receptacle including the dispensing means as close as possible to the top wall of the freezer compartment or to a shelf above which frozen articles may be stored. This is particularly true in top mount refrigerators, that is, those refrigerators having a freezer compartment on top and a fresh food compartment below with the freezer extending across the top of the refrigerator.
In automatic ice piece dispensing apparatus, it is desirable to have the ice pieces dispensed through the freezer door to an ice service center on the outside surface of the freezer door not only for convenience of the user but also as a means of saving energy by not needing to open the large freezer door when the user desires ice pieces. It is found in many cases that because of the overall freezer compartment height limitations, the user does not have access to bulk ice removal from the ice piece receptacle without removing the complete receptacle including the stored ice and the dispensing apparatus from the freezer compartment. In such cases, the ice piece receptacle is quite heavy and very cumbersome to handle in removing and reinstalling it should the user desire bulk ice service.
The present invention allows for easy access for bulk ice service yet minimizing the space within the freezer compartment taken up by the ice piece receptacle and dispenser apparatus.